Shaw, George Bernard

1856 – He was born on the 26th day of July this year in Dublin, Ireland. He was a strong advocate for socialism and women’s rights, a vegetarian and teetotaler, and a harsh critic of formal education.

1876 – He joined his mother’s London household. She, Vandeleur Lee, and his sister Lucy, provided him with a pound a week while he frequented public libraries and the British Museum reading room where he studied earnestly and began writing professionally.

1879 – From this year until 1883, due to a series of rejected novels, his literary earnings remained negligible.

1881 – He became a vegetarian while he was twenty-five, after hearing a lecture by H. F. Lester.

1885 – As music, art and drama critic he wrote under the pseudonym "Corno di Bassetto" (Basset Horn) for the Wolver Hampton Star and, as GBS, for Dramatic Review.

1897 – His first significant financial success as a playwright came from Richard Mansfield’s American production of The Devil’s Disciple.

1898 – He met Charlotte Payne-Townsend, an Irish heiress and fellow Fabian; they married in this year. In addition, this year, he was also the drama critic for Frank Harris’ Saturday Review. His income as a critic made him self-supporting.

1904 – From this year until 1907, several of his plays had their London premieres in notable productions at the Court Theatre, managed by Harley Granville-Barker and J.E. Vedrenne.

1906 – He and his wife moved into a house in Ayot St Lawrence, a small village in Hertfordshire; it was to be their home for the remainder of their lives, although they also maintained a flat in London.

1925 – He was famous as a playwright, he wrote more than sixty plays. He was uniquely honored by being awarded for a Nobel Prize in this year.

1931 – His novel “Immaturity” was published this year in London, Constable. His first novel written in 1879, it was the last one to be printed.

1938 – He was awarded in Oscar for Pygmalion this year.

1946 – His last full-length work was Buoyant Billions.

1950 – He died at age 94, on the 2nd day of November this year in Hertfordshire, England.

1971 – His home, now called Shaw’s Corner, in the small village of Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire is now a National Trust property, open to the public. The Shaw Theatre, Euston Road, London, opened in this year, was named in his honor.